Cheshire Cat Photo Blog: Your Top 10 in 2011, first half
Today was a most unusual and enjoyable July 4 for me – a blend of family, friends, thought about the next generation, cancellation of local fireworks shows for budget reasons, and The Stars and Stripes Forever on KQED right now! I thought about California – how I could drive west to east near Sacramento at 101 degrees F, and see snow on the Sierra Nevada! Yes, there was skiing in the Sierra this July 4 weekend.
No, I did my patriotic piece LAST July 4. Life requires a good bit of righteous anger, but it also requires living in the present, with an enjoyment of every moment of being alive. Life requires reflection upon where we have been.
I hope, for Americans, that your Independence Day was wonderful. We live in a great country, and one that still needs our help.
Here are YOUR Top 10 most-requested blogs from January 1 through June 30 of 2011, in reverse order, with my comments:
10. “Mission San Francisco de Asís (Dolores) and Basilica” was written on January 8th, 2008. Mission San Francisco de Asís (“La Misión Dolorosa“) is the oldest surviving structure in San Francisco. In its cemetery are the graves of the first “mayor” (Alcalde) of San Francisco and the first governor of Alta Calfornia!
09. “Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa” was written on January 21st, 2008. California’s only “L-shaped” Mission was founded in “la Cañada de los Osos” (Valley of the Bears) by “a stream of the finest water,” now the beautiful college town of San Luis Obispo.
08. “$260 million pledge for CA drought aid” was written on April 15th, 2009. I am not sure about the status of this 2009 pledge by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
07. “Mission San Juan Bautista” was written on December 4th, 2007. Located almost on top of the San Andreas Fault and the setting for Alfred Hitchcock’s film “Vertigo,” this Mission, and the town of San Juan Bautiista, are “must-sees.”
06. “3 guns and a dog” was written on April 8th, 2011. Governor Jerry Brown’s three firearms constitute NEITHER a “collection” nor an “arsenal,” and, along with his small corgi, represent types of things that are perfectly natural for people to have in their homes. Now, if he could just convince his fellow Democrats in the State Legislature!
05. “Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo” was written on December 27th, 2007. Father Junípero Serra‘s favorite Mission and his final resting place, in Carmel, may be your favorite, too!
04. “Mission Santa Inés” was written on August 16th, 2009. Our first visit to this Mission in Solvang and active parish church was love at first sight!
03. “Mission Santa Cruz” was written on April 12th, 2008. A half-size replica built in 1931 by Gladys Sullivan and a restored Mission Adobe, a house for neophytes THAT IS ON THE LIST OF 70 STATE PARKS TO BE SHUT DOWN are pretty much all that remain. Use a reusable shopping bag at Raley’s and help!
02. “California ammunition law AB 962 found unconstitutional” was written on January 19th, 2011. A Superior Court Judge ruled AB 962 “unconstitutionally vague on its face,” but the California Legislature STILL won’t take “unconstitutional” for an answer. A lot of Democratic legislators need re-education in American History.
And the #1, most-requested entry for the first half of 2011 was:
01. “Adobe: Zero-day hole in Flash Player” was written on September 13th, 2010. A critical vulnerability in Flash Player for a large number of versions of Windows, Mac, Linus, Solaris, and Android attracted a LOT of attention!
Well, those were the Top 10! The next Top 10 will reflect the favorites for ALL of 2011.
-Bill at
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